


Didn't See It Coming

by GrayGinger2020



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, But magic so things change, Canon Compliant, Cuddling, Fluff, I'm not emotionally ready for this, M/M, Snuggling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 09:15:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18688543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrayGinger2020/pseuds/GrayGinger2020
Summary: I'm not emotionally ready to write this and I may end up crying part way through but after Endgame I needed to write this. Oh, by the way, MASSIVE ENDGAME SPOILERS!It's been a few months or so since the battle was over. They had won, everyone had said. They had rejoiced. Well, as much as they could. There were some lives which couldn't be saved with the stones; Clint learned this the hard way.Tags to be added as we go. May change the title. Feel free to request smut for this fic.





	1. Mortal Archery

**Author's Note:**

> So, again. ENDGAME SPOILERS. Please enjoy my heartbroken ramblings xx

It's been a few months or so since the battle was over. They had won, everyone had said. They had rejoiced. Well, as much as they could. There were some lives which couldn't be saved with the stones; Clint learned this the hard way.

The weight of Nat's death crushed him every day. From the moment he woke up in bed with his loving wife, to the moment he kissed his innocent kids goodnight. It was common knowledge that she had died for one of the stones, and her sacrifice brought back the lives of millions of people. Except hers.

Clint, after weeks of suffering alone, moved back into the Avenger's Facility in order to gain the support from the people he had suffered with. They knew each other's troubles, they supported each other. Nat's death affected them all, and Tony's death had been a huge hit as well.

Clint was sitting in the lounge, having just called his wife - the first time since he moved here a month ago - when Wanda walked in. She saw his sunken eyes and his slumped posture and sat next to him, ready to offer words of comfort. 

"They know you're suffering, Clint, but would you want them to see you like this?"

"Tch. Like what?" He mumbled.

"When was the last time you showered?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I'm still morning, alright? We didn't give  _you_ shit when Pie- when your brother died." For some seemingly unknown reason, his throat closed up at the mention of the Speedster's name. 

"My brother's death gave me a reason to continue fighting. His sacrifice - as well as Nat's - has allowed you to survive all of this. And you're doing what? Two people  _died_ for you to sit on your ass, Barton." Her voice was slightly more raised as subsiding anger from her brother's death flowed through her. It was at this moment that the electricity flickered, before shutting off. 

"Woah, control your powers Maximoff." He said, giving a soft chuckle. She gave him a look of confusion.

"That wasn't me." She replied, her voice flat but simultaneously filled with curiosity. The two venture out of the lounge, Clint grabbing a knife from the kitchen as they headed down the hallway and Wanda readying her power. Suddenly a rumbling came from outside as the sky filled with huge, billowing black clouds.

"That's Thor's shtick, right? With the thunder and crap?" He asked rhetorically. "Hey FRIDAY, where's Thor?"

"Mr Thor is currently in the Lab with Mr Banner, Sir." Clint looked to Wanda with a raised eyebrow before speaking to the interface again.

"What the hell are they doing down there?"

"Sorry Mr Barton, Mr Banner has asked me to keep that private. Would you like me to ask him, sir?"

"That's alright. I'll just do some investigating myself." A sudden clap of thunder sounded as a lightning bolt struck the building, probably headed for the lab. Wanda suddenly clutched at her chest as she staggered backwards and Barton rushed to catch her before she fell. "Jesus, Maximoff, everything alright?" He asked, genuine concern filling his voice for the first time in what was probably years.

Wanda didn't respond for a few seconds as she struggled through the burning pain in her soul.

"I'm not sure what that was. Having bonds with dead people is surprisingly very taxing." She tried to joke at the end however the grimace of pain was still visable in her eyes.

"How does that work?"

"Natasha and Gomhorra. They both died for the stone, which I have a connection to. Sometimes energy from their realm tries to escape through me. It's happened before but it was never like this and I was always able to control it."

"Control what?"

"The energy would try to escape through me, meaning my powers get out of hand. But it's never a lot and I can always control it. But this is different. This is- Ahhh!" She broke off as more pain ripped through her exactly as another bolt of lightning came down. Wanda's body became weak and Clint had to pick her up, tucking the knife into his wasitband.

"FRIDAY, get me Strange."

"Yes, Mr Barton."

"What now?" The doctor spoke a few seconds later as he stepped through a portal into the lounge, where Clint had lain the Scarlett Witch's body on one of the many sofas.

"You're a doctor, right? Fix her."

"I'm a neurosurgeon and Sorcerer Supreme, not a nurse." He corrected, but after Clint's pleading look he sighed and nodded.

While Stephen took Wanda off to the on-site hospital ward, Clint headed to the shooting range, grabbing a bow and a large amount of arrows.

After about an hour or so of shooting his anger at moving targets and pulling off things Robin Hood could only dream about, Clint felt someone else in the room with him. He loaded another bow, ready to shoot at the person lurking behind him, but as he turned to face them, there was no one there. He lowered his bow, whipping around 180 degrees when he felt a brush of wind pass his ear.

"Alight, who's there?" He shouted to the large room. There was no reply but another brush of wind passed him. "Pietro...?" He whispered quietly to himself, before quickly shaking off the thought. Pietro was dead, he had seen him filled with bullet wounds. Hell, there was more wound than there was actual body. The boy had sacrificed himself for Clint. He died so Clint could live, and to honor him, Clint named his son after the Speedster.

So why was he suddenly so reminded of the boy?

Perhaps it was just confirmation bias. Wanda was in pain and there was a breeze in the room. He was just piecing them together illogically. He hadn't morned the kid's death - he hadn't thought he needed to, they were never close - but perhaps it was in order. Hell, this kid had thrown himself in front of a hellfire of bullets and Clint had barely taken a second to mourn the boy's death. Not even as a coworker or friend.

The door suddenly burst open and the great green giant that Banner was burst in, followed quickly by Thor, holding a glowing Jarnbjorn.

"Can I help you?" The archer asked.

"Don't mind us. Lost... something. We'll be on our way." Banner nodded, before exiting again.

"Yes. Don't mind us. Get back to your little... mortal archery." Thor smiled, before running after the scientist.

Clint rolled his eyes, reloading his bow and turning back to the training area, ready to run another program, when he saw the person standing there before him. With his trademark blue shirt and silver hair, the sight of the man left Clint breathless with shock.

Before Clint could say anything, the Speedster ran off, leaving the man in shock - and worry for his mental state.

 

The following day, something made Clint get up earlier than usual, much to everyone's surprise when he appeared for breakfast before midday.

"Ah, the archer joins us today. What a surprise!" Thor called as he entered the room. Everyone quickly looked to the doorway to see Clint standing there in his pyjamas and a grumpy look on his face.

"Jesus, what crawled up your ass and died?" Rocket commented at his expression.

"Fuck off, racoon. I'm here, that's the problem." He took a seat next to Stephen and opposite Peter after grabbing a large mug of strong, black coffee. "Where's Banner? I thought he was the type to be 'up and at em' at the crack of dawn."

"He's in his lab, like he has been for months. But who knows what he's getting up to in there." Rhodey answered.

"What about you, kid? Thought you had school. What're you doing here?" Clint asked Peter.

"Oh, uh. Mr. Stark-" Peter paused for a second, the man's death still hard for him. Tony had been like a father to Peter, and seeing him die before his eyes was too much for the teen to handle, even months after the event. "Mr. Stark left me a message. I'm going to be staying here a while, then restarting the year. I'm not ready to go back." The teen was not his usual happy self anymore, even Clint could see that, especially when the subject of Stark was brought up. 

Clint chugged his coffee before heading to the training room again. For some strange reason, the man found peace when firing his bow, but he wasn't going to question that.

Barely half an hour passed when he felt the presence again. Unlike yesterday, however, when he turned to look at him, the Speedster didn't disappear.

"I saw you die." Clint whispered, voice only just barely audible in the large room. Pietro took a step closer, an unrecognisable look on his face, now less than a foot from Clint. "This can't be happening." Clint's heart was racing, fearful he had finally gone insane. "You can't be real. You died. I saw you die." Pietro placed a hand on Clint's cheek, before leaning up and ever so softly pressing his lips to the older man. As he pulled away, he said something that made Clint's heart ache.

"Didn't see that coming, old man?" The speedster chuckled quietly, before he ran off, too fast to be seen. It was as he disappeared that Banner burst into the room again. Clint was still focussed on what Pietro had just done that he didn't hear Banner speaking.

"Sorry, what?"

"Still looking for that thing. Don't worry, I'll leave you alone know." But now, Clint knew what he was looking for. 

Later that evening, Clint was in his room, thinking over the events of the day. He could still feel the way Pietro's lips felt against his. As he brushed his thumb along his bottom lip, he couldn't help but think about how perfectly they fitted together despite how short and barely-there it was. Laura, he had thought, was perfect, but compared to Pietro, kissing Laura felt like kissing a brick. Clint didn't think he had felt anything softer than Pietro's lips. He had to find him.

 


	2. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint finally confronts the scientist about what's going on.

A week or so later and Clint still had no idea what was going on. Every now and again he would feel a gust of air brush past him, like a whisper, and he would smile secretely to himself. Knowing - or even just thinking of the possibility - that the Speedster was alive brought him a deep down joy he couldn't quite understand. Regardless, he held on to it and treasured it. He would force himself to call his wife and speak to his kids, let them know he loved  _them_. But still, he couldn't get the thought of Pietro's lips on his out of his mind, and it had started to influence his dreams as well.

When he had woken up with a hard on for the third time that week - it had begun to get a little less PG rated and a  _lot_ more R rated - he realised he couldn't suffer like this any longer. He and the rest of the team was in the dark about what was happening, and the last time that had happened, a city ended up flying.

He hurried down to Bruce's lab -after sorting out his problem worringly quickly in the shower - and banged on the locked door as hard and as loud as he could.

"Banner! Let me in!" He shouted relentlessy.

"Sir, Mr Banner has requested you take your leave as he requires absolute focus." FRIDAY spoke calmy from above him.

"Look Mrs AI, he's doing weird science shit in there and not telling any of us. Remember Ultron?" He got no reply for a few seconds, before she came back.

"Mr Banner will be a few seconds, Mr Barton."

As promised, a few seconds later the door unlocked and opened to reveal Banner in his clean, white lab coat.  Clint barged past him in order to see what was going on, and in the middle of the room lay Cho's cradle. It was closed, and Clint ran over to see who was inside.

"Clint! Stop!" Clint stopped as asked, but turned around with a serious expression on his face.

"You've been planning something down here and the only other person who knows is some fucking Norse God. Do you not trust your own teammates? Do you even remember Ultron? When Stark went ahead without consulting his  _team_ about the fucking monstrosity he created?" Barton was near shouting, and he felt rustling coming from the cradle behind him. He instead kept facing Banner to hear out his response.

"We didn't know how the team would react, and we weren't even sure if it was going to work."

"Well they're going to be pretty pissed off when they find out you didn't even trust them. And so what if it didn't work? Science is about trying to do the impossible, I thought you knew that." Barton sighed.

"Alright. I should have trusted the rest of you. But..." He stopped mid-sentence, unsure how to go on. "I'm not sure how certain members would have reacted when they learned the specifics of what Thor and I are doing."

"Yeah, I get it. But Wanda damn well collapsed and she's no clue why. You could have at least told her you were going to try to bring her brother back from the dead."

"How did you know that's what...?" Banner trailed off just as Thor walked in through the still open door.

"Oh, hello Barton." The god said cheerily. "What's he doing here?" He asked Banner.

"I know what you're doing and I wanted to confront you."

"Ah, you're mad that Banner didn't tell the rest of you. Well, you know how Wanda gets when she's mad. Didn't want her detroying the complex because we want to bring the other kid back to life."

"Oh, so making her collapse was the best option? And you know what, I won't be surprised if she gets mad at you anyway. This is her  _brother_ we're talking about, they literally have a bond. She felt like she died when he was killed. Do you know how much pain she was in when you brought him back to life?"

"Hey, you didn't tell me how you know what we were doing?"

"When you first started looking around the base for him. He visited me a couple times, even uh..." Time to lie. It's not like what actually happened matters right now. "He talked to me. Just a few words, y'know? And I can tell when he runs past me. Not something you can forget, even after, what, six, seven years?"

"Why you? Why not Wanda?" Banner wondered.

"You were the last person he saw, right?" Thor asked Clint, to which the archer nodded. "Perhaps his brain is still healing. You are his strongest memory; the man he sacrificed himself for. Maybe he just ran til he saw something familiar."

"So how long until he's back up and runnning like normal?" Barton asked Bruce, who had wondered over to the cradle to check the many monitoring devices.

"Well. We don't know how long until his memories are back fully, but other than that he's ready. He's already been up the past few days but he's been having to sleep here because... well, we couldn't really move him to the hospital. Not with the rest of the team still in the dark about it."

"Well when I successfully bring people back to life, I tend to tell their closest friends and family about it." Clint suggested sarcastically.

"You have done this before, Barton? My, you mortals are strange. Perhaps we should have asked for his help, Banner." Thor cajoled. Banner simply rolled his eyes before opening the cradle, revealing the silver-haired kid. Now that he could see him up close, it hit Clint that this kid before him really was a kid. He hadn't aged in the past seven years, what with his body being in ice, ready for... this, but Clint? Clint was growing old. The final battle had made him sore like an old man and stressed like an office worker. His face grew weary and his eyes were tired. But not the Speedster. His skin was practically glowing. There were no bags under his eyes and his hair itself was full of life. Clint stared at the marvel beneath him and after a minute his eyes fluttered open. His bright, blue eyes were young and a spark lay hidden in them.

"You alright kid?" Barton teased as Maximoff sat up.

"Better than you, old man." He laughed in return.

"Maximoff," Banner began, making Clint take a step away from the cradle, "Clint said you went to see him. Do you mind my asking why?" Clint could have sworn he saw the beginnings of a blush on Pietro's pale skin as he went for an answer. "What about your sister? Could you not have even stayed here and let us explain things?"

"I have been to see Wanda. I didn't stay for long, she was asleep in her hospital bed, but I knew she could still tell I was there. Clint was the only other person I could remember."

"Ok. And do you remember more now?" Bruce asked as he noted some things down on a computer.

"I remember mostly everything. Where are the others?" Bruce sucked in a question, and Thor's eyes widened with worry. Clint let out a sigh, before grabbing the speedsters hand and pulling him out of the lab.

They walked around the Facility, and after five or so minutes, Clint began to explain.

"So, you killed Thanos and then you went back in time to kill Thanos again?" Pietro checked, a small chuckle in his voice, once Barton finished.

"We went back in time to bring trillions of people across the galaxy back to life. Half of the Avengers got turned into dust - not that you know any of the new ones - and not to mention my family. We lost people we loved. So did half the galaxy. We had to bring them back."

"But I wasn't dust." Pietro frowned.

"No. I don't know why Bruce decided to bring you back. But not everyone could be brought back with the snap. I guess he's trying his best to return what was lost as best he can."

"Why are you so..." Pietro waved his hands about, not able to find the word. 

"My closest friend sacrificed herself so we could have one of the stones, and my other friend sacrificed himself to bring back half the galaxy. And they're gone. Forever." Clint's voice was low and hushed.

"Some sacrifices come back. Don't lose all hope." Maximoff smiled. "I'm pretty sure my sister might be able to help as well, if Natasha died for the soul stone. You know the bond she has with it." By now they were stood outside the hospital ward, where Wanda was still lying. She hadn't woken up and Strange was getting stressed about her condition.

"Why  _did_ you come to see me?" Clint asked. He didn't talk about it directly, but Maximoff knew what he was referring to.

"I don't know. Something in me told me to find you. I lied when I said I couldn't remember Banner or Thor. Truth was, I could only remember you." Pietro was speaking openly and honestly, and Clint couldn't help but to close the gap between them to capture the younger man's lips in a searing kiss. 

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about that day since. I went mad, I'm fairly sure."

"That does happen with old age." The speedster chuckled, before pressing a quick kiss to Clint's lips with a smile. "I have to go see my sister. I'll see you around, old man." He jogged - normal, human jogged - into the room as Peter made himself known with a short cough.

"How much of that did you see?" Clint asked, worried.

"Too much. Not to sound rude, but I'm not a huge fan of watching people suck face." Peter answered honestly. "I was wondering if I could go out."

"What have I got to do with that?"

"I assumed you... I don't know. I thought like, you were the boss now or something. I felt like I had to ask, since we haven't been doing anything recently." Peter shrugged.

"You don't need to ask us to go see your friends, Peter."

"Oh no, not to see my friends. I was going to go out and, well, be Spiderman. Friendly, neighbourhood Spiderman. Stopping bank robberies and helping old women find their way." He smiled slightly.

"Go on then. You don't need to ask to go out. We're more your flatmates than your parents." The kid nodded, before running off somewhere, presumably to put his suit on.


	3. Carnival

"Barton!" Wanda's voice made Clint jump. He was currently at the computers, working with FRIDAY to scan for signs of Hydra when the witch shouted for him. "Don't play with my brother you asshole!" She hissed, finally reaching where he was sitting.

"Woah, woah. Calm down. Play with him? What's that supposed to mean?"

"He tells me everything, dumbass. You can't just go around snogging him when you feel like it because your wife isn't here. You can't use him as a stand in because he has feelings for you." Clint was confused.

"I... I'm not playing with him. He knows I have a wife and family. If I missed Laura that much, don't you think I'd be on the first Quinjet out of here to see her? I like Pietro, seriously. I ain't trying to play with him." Wanda was silent for a second before speaking again.

"If you hurt him, I'll come down on you so hard even Thanos would be scared." She hissed, before stalking off. As she did, an alert popped up on screen with an image of Peter in his suit with someone else.

"Boss, Mr Parker's entered the building with an unknown person. What do you want me to do?" Clint studied the masked face of the stranger for a second, but was unable to recognise it.

"Run a scan on that mask. And I'm not your boss."

"Of course, sir." That bloody Irish AI was going to make him go mad. Clint set about making a mug of coffee while FRIDAY searched the entire net for matches. "Boss, the masked man appears to be Deadpool. He was a mercenary for hire but went quiet a few years ago. Six years ago, to be precise."

"You think he was snapped?"

"Possibly. His real name is unknown, so I can't check the records." The records. A list of every single human on Earth who had died the day that Thanos had snapped the gauntlet. "They're in the elevator now, boss."

"Thanks FRIDAY." Clint got up before making his way to the elevator, coffee in hand, and a spring in his step. The archer was in a surprisngly good mood today, even with what had happened with Wanda. 

The elevator doors opened as he reached them. Peter sneakily tried to look left and right to check if anyone was there, but didn't see Barton in front of him.

"Come on, there's no one around." He whispered to the ex-mercenary, turning to face him.

"You sure about that, baby boy?" Deadpool said, before nodding at Barton. Peter turned around and jumped when he saw Clint. Deadpool took in Clint's appearance before whispering something to Peter. "You never said he was so hot." Clint could tell he was grinning under his mask as Peter elbowed him. "You must be Barton, judging by the hair. Pleasure to meet you. But Petey and I don't have much time, so if you could just show us where the nearest lockable room is and we'll be out of your hair." At this, Peter ripped his mask off and looked at Deadpool with a serious face. 

"Seriously Wade! You're not getting in my pants!" Peter yelled in a hushed tone.

"Can I ask what you're doing here?" Clint finally spoke up.

"Can't I bring my friends 'round? I thought I didn't need to ask permission."

"Yes, you can. But we never talked about bringing mercenaries in, unknown ones at that." Clint crossed his arms.

"Wade- Uh, Deadpool is my friend."

"And it's  _ex_ -mercenary. Gave that up a long time ago."

"Six years ago, I saw. Why was that?" Barton asked, intrigued. The suited men had stepped out of the elevator by now.

"Got dusted. Except, when your body can heal like mine, it takes a bit longer than a snap. I think I must have been floating around, half dust, half human for about a month or three before I finally properly disintergrated. When I finally came back, I couldn't bring myself to start killing again. Not until I found out where Petey was."

"So you two are together?"

"No!" Peter yelled quickly. "No." He repeated, calmer this time. "Just friends. He used to help me out on patrols, and I've missed him. I thought seeing a friend might help with everything." Clint mulled the situation over in his head for a second.

"I'm going to have to see Dead's face at some point in time, but for now, welcome to the Avengers' Facility." The two hurried off, and Clint yelled after them. "No fucking on the stairwell either!" There was a light gust of wind behind him, and Clint turned around with a smile.

"No fucking in the stairwell? Damn, there go my plans for later." The Speedster grinned.

They walked back together to where Clint's scan for Hyrda was still running. 

"Any results yet FRIDAY?"

"Not yet, boss. If you want, I can try to get into some of S.H.I.E.L.D's old files, but it'll take a few hours to hack into them."

"Do it. We need to find the bastards."

"On it, boss."

"Not your damn boss." Clint muttered under his breath. "Now what am I supposed to do for 'a few hours'?"

"I heard there was a carnival on down town." Pietro suggested, hinting at something.

"Go get ready then." The archer sighed, and the kid ran out of the room faster than Clint had ever seen him run.

When they arrived at the carnival, Clint couldn't help but watch Pietro adoringly, as he took in the sight before him with an amazed expression on his face. The busy crowds, the bright lights and loud music. Pietro grabbed Clint's hand and dragged him to every stall, insisting they had a go at each of them. 

"You have to have a go!" Pietro begged when they reached another stall, which had participants try to shoot all three tin cans.

"It wouldn't be fair. You know what my aim is like." Clint tried to shrug Pietro off, but the silver haired man was tugging insistently on his arm like a child.

"Please? Do it for me?" He whined. Clint sighed, but agreed to anyway. He paid the vendor and took the air rifle, before giving Pietro a look. 

"Don't get mad at me when I don't miss. I said it won't be fair." Maximoff rolled his eyes and pushed Clint closer to the stall to take his shots. 

It was over surprisingly quickly, Clint hitting each of the cans in quick succession. The vendor looked at him, mouth wide with shock, and quickly handed him a large stuffed bear as a prize.

"Uh, thanks pal." Clint said, awkwardly taking the toy from the vendor. He turned to Pietro immediately, handing the bear to him. "For you." Pietro took the bear with a smile, before leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to Clint's cheek in thanks. 

The two men then took a seat on the Ferris wheel, taking in the sight of the city in the setting sun's light from the top. 

"This is beautiful." Pietro gasped, able to see most of the city from his position. The sunset was casting hot orange and flirty pinks across the horizon, and Clint couldn't help but agree.

"Hmm. Isn't it just." Pietro turned to see Clint already looking at him, taking in his features in the orange light of the sky. Pietro blushed, before leaning in to kiss Clint and wrapped his arms around his neck, tangling his hands in the older man's hair. The kiss wasn't like the other times they had kissed. It wasn't fast and passionate or light and breezy. It was slow, but heavy. It conveyed words that the two were too scared to admit. It was caring and delicate, and as Clint slipped his tongue into Pietro's mouth he couldn't help but think that this was what he wanted.

Not Laura, or the kids. Hell, he wouldn't care if he woke up tomorrow like a normal human. He didn't care if he became homeless. All he wanted was Pietro.

All he  _needed_ was Pietro.

They went home after the Ferris wheel and took the elevator upstairs, where Clint couldn't help but to slip his hand into Pietro, who was still flushing from the moment they shared on the Ferris wheel. Sitting down for dinner with the rest of the team, no one could have ignored how different Pietro seemed. He became shy, blushing everytime he made eye contact with Clint, who, by the way he was acting, no one would have guessed what had happened.

Thor turned the TV, only for it to be some sort of gossip news channel.

"We've just had some breaking news. Clint Barton was seen earlier this evening attending the carnival in New York, and, pictured here on the left, was with an unknown male. Sources believe it's a Pietro Maximoff, thought to have died several years ago during the Battle of Sokovia." Everyone's heads turned to look at the screen at the announcement, and Clint wanted to shrink into oblivion when he saw two photographs on screen.

One was a poorly taken image of the moment he had handed the stupidly large stuffed bear to Pietro, with the Speedster's lips pressed against his cheek. The other was incredible. While creepy and kind of weird, the high-quality image was of the moment on the Ferris wheel. Pietro had his hands gripped in Clint's hair, eyes closed, mouth against Clint's as the orange sky contrasted against Pietro's eyes.

Rocket wolf whistled, which made an already blushing Pietro blush harder.

"So that's why he went to you." Banner muttered under his breath.

"I thought the archer had a wife." Thor thought aloud. FRIDAY took this moment to save Clint with an annoucement.

"Boss, the scan's finished, and I found a few interesting files." Clint wordlessly got up and left the room, escaping the tention as quickly as he could.

"What've we got, FRIDAY?" He asked, looking at the projection of the files the A.I had pulled up.

"Two files. I've searched through them both. The file contains documents detailing current and past members, with last known locations, photos and known aliases, as well as close family members. The other is a list of numbers; co-ordinates. I've already plugged them into a map. Here."  A globe projection appeared, and six spots were highlighted.

"Are these base locations?"

"Yes boss. Moscow, Berlin, Tokyo, London, New York, and Johannesburg."

"Is there any way we can get recon on the bases? See if they're still running?"

"I can contact Mr Mackenzie if you wish, sir?"

"Tell him we need recon on those bases ASAP." He looked down to his phone, which was now vibrating. "I'll see if I make it out of this alive."


	4. Meeting Them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The news is broadcast everywhere. This was bound to happen.

Clint ran out of the room and into his quarters to answer the call from his wife, who was undoubtedly furious with him.

"Hey Laura." He spoke through the phone. He didn't try to sound to happy, but he didn't try to sound curious as to why she was calling. He knew. She knew he knew.

 _"Clint..."_ Even through the rough phone connection, he could hear the heartbreak in her voice.

"Laura, I... I don't know what to do." His voice cracked as he spoke honestly with his wife. "And I'm sorry. I just... it's like my entire life had just flipped on it's head recently and I don't know what to do."

_"Come home."_

"I can't. I need to be here for the guys. I just found some leads-"

 _"Clint, come home. Please. Visit us, just for a few days. See the kids, they miss you. We all do."_ He could tell she was smiling through her tears.  _"You can bring him if you like."_

"I'll see you in a few hours. Love you." And he did. He loved her. She was his wife and the mother to his children. She was an amazing woman who he had shared his life with. Of course he loved her. But it was more, platonic and respective love. Compared to whatever this thing was with Pietro, his feelings for her were just platonic.

 _"Love you too."_ And she hung up. Clint rushed about, packing a few clothes, before heading out of his room, bumping into Pietro as he stepped out.

"Was just about to look for you." He smiled, adjusting the bag strap on his shoulder. From the look in Pietro's eyes, he could tell a million thoughts a second were running through his mind.

"You're not leaving, are you?"

"Ha, nah. You can't get rid of me that easily. No, I'm just going to see the family for a few days." At this, the younger lad visibly saddened. "You're coming with, by the way. She wants to meet you, I think." Barton scratched the back of his neck as Maximoff have him a confused bt excited look. Clint watched him run off at top speed before returning less than a minute later with a kit bag.

They walked hand in hand to one of the hangers, Clint settling in to pilot the Quinjet.

"Get some rest. I'll just take off and put her on the right course before letting autopilot do it's thing. The benches back there should push together." Maximoff pushed a couple of benches together to form a surface big enough for the two of them to sleep on together. He wasn't sure if that's what Clint wanted to do, but Pietro was too tired to care. Lying down, he closed his eyes and soon fell asleep despite the awkward surface beneath him.

Many hours later and Clint was woken up by the autopilot, letting him know it would be a few minutes until they arrived. Clint had fallen asleep next to Pietro on the benches, who had snuggled up to him during his sleep. Clint got up off of the hard surface, stretching his aching back, before sitting down in the pilot seat to take over from the Autopilot.

"Hey kid, time to wake up." He called to Pietro, who was still on the bench. Clint began to set the Quinjet down onto the field outside his house, smiling as he saw Laura and the kids stood waiting on the front porch. 

The two Avengers headed over to the house, Clint greeting his wife with a quick peck to the cheek before scooping his children up in his arms one by one, hugging them tightly. Laura looked to Pietro, who was a few steps back, not wanting to get in the way and looking out of place. She held out a hand to him.

"Hi, I'm Laura."

"Uh, Pietro." He shook her hand briefly. Something registered on her face before she turned to her husband, who had just put down Nathaniel.

"Lovely to meet you, Pietro..." She trailed off, glancing back at the Sokovian. "Head inside. You can dump your stuff in the hallway for now." She smiled. Once the kids and Pietro had scurried inside, Laura looked sternly at Clint.

"Pietro." She began.

"Yeah..." He scratched the back of his neck.

"I thought he was dead. You know, sacrificing himself for you and all?"

"He was. Banner has a cradle which heals wounds. It forces cells to make bonds and form new tissue. I think, with some help from Thor, they managed to get him back."

"Clint!" She hissed. "This boy is goodness knows how much younger than you!"

"Yeah. I forgot that I've aged in the seven years since his death and he hasn't. Other than that, do you like him?" She sighed and closed her eyes.

"I don't know. Honestly Clint, I don't know what to think. You leave your family barely a month after having them back after five  _years_ , only to start galavanting around with some kid. Why? Was I not good enough? Is he better than I am because he's so young? Because he hasn't had three kids so he's still perfect?"

"Laur, no. What the hell are you going on about?"

"Where has this all come from? Clint, I thought... I thought..."

"You thought what?"

"I thought you loved me. I thought that you loved me and the kids, that you were happy here, with us."

"I do love you. Jesus, Laur, you think I'm going to stop loving for all of a sudden? I married you for a reason! You're the mother of my children! I'll always love you."

"Just not the way you love him." She replied, flatly.

"I don't know what I feel for him. I think I may have had feelings for him even before he died, but then he sacrificed himself for me and we had to go after Thanos - twice, and stop an alien invasion. I didn't have much time to think about it when I could. And now he's back, everything's just hitting me."

"You could have called. Or said something. Even if you'd called me a few days ago and told me about him. But I had to hear from the news that you'd been cheating on me. Do you know how that feels?"

"Laur, I'm sorry. I really am. But-" She raises her hand as if to slap him, but before she can move her wrist there's a hand holding it back and a body blocking the way. 

"I'm not great with kids, but there's three in there and they can all hear your argument, and I'm not qualified to deal with kids." Pietro spoke calmy and clearly. The other two adults both let out a sigh and they headed inside.

"Pietro, this is Lila, Cooper and Nathaniel. Kids, this is Pietro, he's a... friend of mine. He's staying with us for a few days." Clint explained simply to the kids. They waved to the Sokovian, who smiled lightly in return. The two boys then ran off upstairs to play and Lila pulled her dad off to the side.

"Dad, didn't you say Pietro was dead?"

"Yes, but I live with crazy scientists, gods and wizards. It's probably not the weirdest thing to happen."

"Is he the guy that you named Nathaniel after?"

"Yeah. And no, he doesn't know." He added at her expression. "What?"

"I saw the news, dad." His heart dropped.

"Oh. Um..."

"It's okay. Kind of mad you didn't think you could tell us." Why did this sound similar? "But you know we all love you, right dad? We just want you to be happy. And by the looks of things, Pietro makes you  _very_ happy."

"Aren't you too young to know about that kind of stuff?" Clint laughed, before heading back into the main room to where Laura and Pietro were stood, discussing something calmly. He grabbed his and Pietro's bags, before signalling to the Sokovian to follow him upstairs, where he went into the guestroom.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come." Pietro worries, looking to Clint.

"I swear you were just getting on with Laura. And Lila seems to like you. I'm sure the boys do as well."

"She was telling me about how my sacrifice really affected you." He began. Clint hummed an answer as he began to put his clothes away. "Told me about Nathaniel as well." Another hum. "Told me you'd named him after me. Nathaniel Pietro Barton." Clint stopped what he was doing and made eye contact with him.

"I...Yeah. I wanted to honor your sacrifice."

"Trust me, I'm honored. But you didn't need to do anything. I saved your life, that's what the Avengers do, right?"

"Stop acting like your death meant nothing!" Clint finally barks. "You only think that because you're alive now. But you died. Under normal circumstances, we'd have never seen you again. And I couldn't bare to live without honoring the memory of you in some way." He was close to Pietro, perhaps only a whisper away. There was a flutter of breath between the two before Pietro pulled Clint's head to his and sealed their lips in a kiss. Clint was quick to react, placing his hands on Maximoff's hips and pushing him against the door. Teeth clashed as the two men kissed with fervour, heavy breath in their lungs. "You mean so much. To me, to Wanda, to the team. Stop acting like you don't." Clint whispered, before diving back in for another, softer kiss.

"I'm pretty sure Laura still hates me though."

"And her opinion matters to you more than mine?" Clint pulled back with a raised eyebrow, before Pietro let out a soft laugh, shaking his head bfore burying it in Clint's shoulder.

"Not a bit."

 "This doesn't bother you, does it?"

"What?"

"Me being married and having kids already."

"This is enough for me. It's the most I've ever had. And hey, just means you've got experience, old man."

"Hey kid, I'm not that old."

"Well, I stopped aging for seven years, so, you are very old compared to me."

"Surely that just means I've got more experience?" Clint asks, turing Pietro's words against him.

"Let's hope so, otherwise you're getting my hopes up for no reason. You know my metabolic rate is way higher, right?" Maximoff was smirking suggestibely but Clint was oblivious.

"And?"

"Well, I'm quicker. In many ways. I need less rest between certain activities, for example."

"You mean...?" Pietro nodded. "Can't wait." The older man chuckled. "Now," he began, pulling away from Pietro, "let's not make them anymroe suspicious of us."

"Yeah, they might think we're together." Pietro rolled his eyes, but his tone was light.


End file.
